Diet Mountain Dew (baby, New York City)
by Hope's Voice
Summary: Calypso Beauregard is a miserable graduate. She can't find a proper job and she has a desperate desire for a love life. Leo Valdez is the impish mechanic who strolls in her life during one of Calypso's shifts after a particularly nasty heartbreak. They're nothing alike, but they might be just what the other is looking for. (Coffee Shop AU / Human AU)
1. ready for another lie

**Diet Mountain Dew (baby, New York City)**

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><p><strong>Summary: <strong>Calypso Beauregard is a miserable graduate who can't find a proper job with a desperate desire for a love life. Leo Valdez is the impish mechanic who strolls in her life during one of Calypso's shifts after a particularly nasty heartbreak. They're nothing alike, but they might be just what the other is looking for. (Coffee Shop AU)

**Pairings:** Calypso/Leo Valdez, Calypso & Nico di Angelo, past Calypso/Others, Leo Valdez/Khione, unrequited Leo Valdez/Others, unrequited Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson, background Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, background Charles Beckendorf/Silena Beauregard

**Warnings:** No warnings apply. Fluff & [minor] Angst. Some swearing. Mentions of implied sexual content (but no actual scenes). Some pining. Some homosexual material (for all you phobes).

**Note:** This is a Caleo Coffee Shop AU (because Coffee Shop AU is basically initiation for an AU writer [especially in deancas (spn) fics!] lol). Note that on pairings Calypso & Nico di Angelo (without the slash mark) means a platonic (friendship) relationship, not romantic. Since this is an AU, not all sibling/friendship relationships will reflect the books directly. There are also some other minor background pairings not mentioned above. Self beta'd because I have 0.5 fandom friends. *crying*

My tumblr is: **ensemble-of-dolphins** (warning-ish: I mainly post fandom material related to the TV show Supernatural and a homosexual pairing by the name of Destiel)

**Disclaimer:** Well this is on a fanfiction site for a reason. The title of the story and every chapter onwards come directly from Lana Del Rey songs (specifically 'Diet Mountain Dew').

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><p><strong>1: ready for another lie<strong>

Sobbing about her pitiful love life post-breakup seemed to become somewhat of a custom for Calypso Beauregard over the course of the past decade. Of course, getting spectacularly drunk the following hour of said breakup was set by default too. The schedule followed then hours later to where Calypso was now crouched over the toilet puking her guts out while crying simultaneously with Silena Beauregard holding her hair back for her.

Honestly, Calypso had half a mind to wonder why her sister was so understanding when her love life had never been anything but a perfect fairy tale. Meanwhile, Calypso was the sad graduate who couldn't find a job outside her friend's coffee shop that was probably offered out of pity much less find a stable love life. She was the epitome of self-pity and misery while her younger sister was the shining daughter of love.

At least that was what it seemed like to Calypso. She stumbled a little while she got up, wiping the residue on her chin with the back of her hand, her lips curling in disgust. All right, so Calypso had a crappy life sometimes, but she always regretted drinking in the morning. "I'm going to work," she mumbled, splashing cold water on her face while Silena patted her back comfortingly.

"Are you sure?" Silena asked, her face an expression of concern and worry. "Callie, it's okay if you don't feel like going today. I'm sure Iris will understand."

Of course Iris would understand; she was Calypso's best friend and almost always subject to Calypso's bad moods when a nasty breakup and a failed rebound occurred. Yes, Calypso could skip work today and dwell in her own feelings, and Iris would completely understand. The thing was that Calypso didn't want to be that person again. She didn't want to be that mopey girl bailing out on her friends just because a few men enjoyed ruining her life.

"I'm going," Calypso said. "Now get out. I need a shower."

"Well someone's determined," Silena said with a small smile upon her lips. Her expression quickly turned serious again. "Percy might be there today, you know." His name was tentative on her lips, like she thought Calypso would revert back to the state she was in last night after Percy regretfully told her that he wasn't interested and already had a girlfriend. And for God's sake, he really should have just told her in the first place right off the bat instead of stringing Calypso along for the game. A 'hey, I've got a girlfriend' wouldn't have hurt.

Silena had years of experience from reading Calypso's facial expression to guess what she was thinking. "Percy's not a bad guy. He just doesn't know how to mention things, I guess," she said. "He probably just assumed that you knew he wasn't available…"

Calypso closed her eyes and stilled her motions. Here went her sister again, defending the actions of a man she barely knew. What she didn't need was her sister inadvertently make her feel even worse about herself. It was like she got so caught up in trying to help everyone that she accidently stepped on something else instead. In this case, that thing was Calypso. "Don't you have classes at the University to get to?"

When she opened her eyes again, her sister was frowning. "Yes, but —"

"Don't make me force you to go. And can you call Iris for me and tell me that I'm coming to work?"

"Calypso," she said softly like she was attempting to calm a feral animal down from unsheathing its claws.

"Don't 'Calypso' me," she said. When Silena didn't move from her place at the door, she sighed and looked at her sibling. "Don't worry about me," she said in a softer tone that was bound to make Silena think she was okay. "Just go to school, get a good job, marry your boyfriend and let your older sister deal with whatever she's going through. I'll get over it. Percy wasn't my first." The last bit stung to say, but Silena needed to hear it for reassurance that Calypso wasn't going to hurt herself any time soon.

"All right," her younger sister said. "But if you need someone to talk to —"

"I'm fine!" she insisted, holding up the pretense of putting her hurt behind her. Of course, this was only until her sister finally let the front door of their apartment slam behind her. It was then that Calypso continue crying and aching over it for the half-hour.

When she left the apartment at three in the afternoon, she looked like a perfectly normal stranger you'd pass every day in the streets of New York City.

**-CALEO-**

The first thing Fleecy did was hug Calypso when she walked into Rainbow's for her shift. She had only just opened the door when she felt an unexpected weight upon her and suddenly had an armful of a short frizzy-haired girl. "Callie!" she cried. "We missed you!"

According to her regular day schedule she should have been here about two hours ago so she wasn't quite sure how Fleecy had managed to actually miss her presence in the preceding hours. Fleecy stepped back from Calypso and grinned brightly at her while she began to recount tales she had managed to gather from her hours in the coffee shop. She was only half listening to the young girl's rambles while she made her way to the counter to greet her friend, Iris di Angelo.

Iris glanced up from the latest customer to see her, a sympathetic smile already in place on her lips. Calypso grimaced, holding up her hand in a small wave. Iris's younger brother was standing awkwardly to the side, looking confused and like he didn't know what to do with his hands. Funnily enough, Nico was wearing a coffee stained white apron today. Calypso could guess that it was courtesy of Fleecy's big crush on him and her fetish for dark broody boys shoved in a honeyed environment.

When Nico saw Calypso, relief swept across his expression. He pulled off the apron without untying the back and threw it at her. When the apron was off, Nico's fluffy dark hair was sticking in all directions, and Fleecy let out a high pitched, poorly concealed noise of affection — no, _giggle _at Nico's state. He stared unabashedly at her for a few seconds like he didn't know what to make out of it before tossing the apron at Calypso with a half-hearted "You're a life saver" comment.

"Okay," she said, holding the apron in her hands after Nico had made his quick getaway from his sister's coffee shop. Sometimes she wondered how Nico and Iris were even related. They were completely different from personality to appearance, but she got along with them both equally well.

Iris waved her friend over to the counter, and Calypso followed obligingly while she put on the apron, tying it around her waist. Her friend's warm brown eyes were alit with enthusiasm, and she quickly begun her first words with, "I was thinking of opening a supermarket here at Rainbow's too. Like we can rent that new space and then tear down the walls and make them one big shop so then we can intrigue all those hipsters to come over. I mean those hipsters really are everywhere now, aren't they? Think of the income rise! We'll be rich!"

"I'm thinking all right; thinking of the extra rental fees," Calypso said dryly, flicking a doughnut flake off the counter. The thing about Iris was that she needed a friend like Calypso to keep her grounded and realistic. Otherwise, Iris would be trying to take messages by the use of a rainbow. She was a balloon, floating higher and higher into the atmosphere when she didn't have something to ground her. Calypso feared the moment when the balloon would pop so she held onto Iris's strings tightly with no intention of letting go.

"Don't be such a spoilsport! It's going to be amazing! I was thinking of calling it Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyle — R.O.F.L for short. All employees will be called ROFLcopters. Fleecy and I both agreed on that. Right, Fleecy?" The girl in question looked up with a grin a big thumbs up.

Calypso gave Iris a pointed look, but she was already feeling happier since the last few hours she spent crying over Percy. Iris and Fleecy had that effect on her; it was why she loved working at Rainbow's even though she really wanted to pursue acting. "Sometimes," she began, "I wonder why I even let you name this place."

Her friend scrunched up her nose at that thought. "Come on! Rainbow's Coffee is an indefinitely better name than Ogygia. Who comes up with a name like that? The Ancient Greeks?"

"Hey," Calypso warned jokingly. "Ogygia is my home. Stop insulting it."

That was how the first hour went by. The three of them chatted amicably whenever there was time, and neither of her friends brought up the topic of Percy Jackson, in which they thought Calypso and Percy had hit it off so well. The fact that Calypso had come to work the next day two hours late smelling like cheap perfume without the announcement of a boyfriend said enough.

During the second hour of Calypso's shift, someone slammed the door open hard enough for the chimes to clang violently against the door. She glanced up immediately to see a pretty dark-haired woman dressed in expensive designer clothes and obviously fuming by the way she was storming into the shop. Calypso shot a quick glance at her friends, wondering what the hell was going on. Maybe it was an angry customer who had time to file a complaint. Fleecy was frozen in place, staring at the woman with a mixture of awe and repulsion. It was odd for someone to render such an expression out of Fleecy, and Calypso wondered if she knew her.

Not long after her alarming entrance, she was followed by a man with curly black hair, slightly grimy clothing, and wide brown eyes. "Chloe!" he called after her, nearing tripping over his own feet to get to the snobby looking woman. "Hey, babe, wait —"

"It's _Khione_ to you now," she snapped, jerking her arm away from him like she thought he was infected. "And _don't _call me babe anymore," she snarled. The expression on his face crumpled, and Calypso's thought was that only a crazy person would throw away what was obviously some form of a declaration of love.

That name sounded familiar though, and she had no idea why. Khione was exotic sounding, and it had just the right touch of superiority to it that it matched the woman well. "All right," he said. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what's going on. I thought you liked me. _I _liked you."

Khione had a lovely face, but her expression was absolutely ugly when she said her next words. "You actually think it was real? I'm _Khione Snow _and you're just _Leo Valdez_. Do you really think you can compete with everyone else out there? I have beautiful men _begging _at me feet. To be honest, you were lucky for the time we were together."

Leo's grip was loosening, and he looked so disappointed and upset at Khione's words that Calypso was beginning to wonder if his expression mimicked hers whenever she had a bad breakup. Of course, she always appreciated it when others intervened to separate her with the cause of the heartbreak. She stepped away from the counter and towards the lovers. "This is a coffee shop, ma'am," she began calmly, "so it would be highly appreciated if you could take this outside."

She thought that Khione would start throwing a hissy fit, so she was surprised when the woman gave Calypso something close to a thankful look before she stormed out with a "He's your problem now" which was frankly quite rude.

Leo Valdez was left standing alone in the coffee shop, looking utterly lost. Activity slowly began to return to the coffee shop again, but most conversations now seemed to be focused around what had just transpired in Rainbow's. Before Calypso could approach him, Fleecy grabbed her arm and pulled her down to hiss in her ear. "Callie! Do you even know who that was?"

"Uh, no?" Calypso replied confusedly. The name had sounded familiar, but she certainly couldn't place where she had heard it before. She wasn't very in touch with pop culture today, so she would have no idea if someone famous walked into Rainbow's one day.

"That was Khione Snow! One of the most famous fashion designer in the world who specializes in the winter category! You know, the snobby woman who throws her influence and money around. And if that really is Leo Valdez, her boyfriend of four years, then we've just witnessed the breakup of the century!"

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><p>Notes: I finally finished the first chapter, finally. Since I'm a terrible updater, I'm going to have to beg you all to just bear with me. You know what helps faster updates? <strong><span>Constructive<span> Criticism! **Please, if you spot any OCC'ness, tell me! I've been reading a lot of Destiel fanfiction recently, so there is going to be possibly character bleed with either Castiel or Dean. If you can't leave constructive criticism, then normal reviews/comments work too. Like the above notes say, every chapter title and the story title is taken from Lana Del Rey's song 'Diet Mountain Dew' that I am now associating with Calypso more and more every time I hear it. I'm planning more Caleo AU's in the future (a possible high school or college one- definitely a mafia one after this) so I really hope I can actually finish this soon. I was actually planning on making this M-rated with smut... but then I realized I can only write guy-on-guy scenes properly. There's a possible chance I can. If you want it to happen, please tell me. If I don't get any notice on this, I'm not writing Caleo smut.

Let me know what you think of my writing style lol. If you hate it, please give reasons why so I can improve. Thanks! Also if you could point out spelling mistakes and typos that would be great.

I have a canon-verse Caleo fic under 'All the Right Reasons Were Wrong All Along' if you wanna check that out.

Writer wording choices- Nico's fluffy hair: I've always associated slightly longer black hair with the word 'fluffy' (thank you, Destiel fanfiction characterizing Castiel's hair...). If you find any evidence in the books that go against that, please tell me.

I'm also trying to sneak in all the canon references I can. AKA: Calypso's bad pop culture stuff, R.O.F.L, Ogygia, Khione dumping Leo on Calypso's island, Calypso's latest flame being Percy

_Dammit, this is so similar to a Destiel fanfiction. Mechanic(!Dean) and Barista(!Cas). Oh boy._


	2. take another drag

**2: take another drag**

If Calypso ended up staring blankly for a while at Leo Valdez then she couldn't really be blamed for it. She may live in Manhattan, but she didn't come across fashion designers and their boyfriends on a daily basis. It didn't help that she had attempted to cease their arguing that ended up in Khione strutting away with a figurative 'thanks honey' pat on Calypso's cheek. She only had a moment to consider the consequences of her unwanted actions before Leo's eyes were upon her. Calypso averted her eyes immediately, not wanting to gauge just how badly she had screwed things up between the "It" couple.

Then she immediately retreated to the back room with a bogus excuse about having to "check if my sister had forgotten something there the last time she was at Rainbow's, because Silena is always forgetting things here and there –"

"Callie." She spun around from her place in front of the boxes to see Iris looking back at her with a worried frown. Calypso had stood in front of the boxes for the last few minutes opening and closing them fretfully.

"Hello," she said in a calm manner to a worried looking Iris. "I was just looking for –"

"Yeah, yeah," Iris cut her off while rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. It was obvious that Iris knew she was lying about looking for Silena's belongings, but Calypso couldn't help it. "That Leo guy is gone, if that's what you're so freaked out about."

A sigh of relief that Calypso didn't realize she was holding escaped her. Calypso generally didn't get anxious around strangers, so she wasn't exactly sure why she was avoiding him. It could have possibly been because of the whole Percy fiasco not even twenty-four hours ago; she was a little sore around the edges whenever she was rejected by someone. Especially the way Percy had done it. Not that he was a bad person per se, it was just that he was a little oblivious. Calypso had found that trait endearing at first but not so much after Annabeth Chase had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Sorry," Calypso said, closing the box once again. "I don't know what just happened back there."

Iris patted her shoulder. "Khione just has that effect on people."

Calypso worried her lower lip, wondering whether or not she should mention that it was Leo who froze her up rather than Khione. Iris was still talking. "How about you check on Nico for a while? I don't think you'll be very productive for the rest of the shift."

"God," Calypso groaned. "I'm so sorry. I don't even know what's wrong with me today. Yeah, okay, I'll hang out with your antisocial brother for you and make sure he doesn't do something illegal. I'll make up for today's shift tomorrow, all right?"

Iris smiled at her warmly. "You're my friend, Callie! I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to work here. I don't care if you miss a few shifts. Just promise you'll be okay for me."

Calypso nodded. "I'll try my best, Iris," she said in a mock eager tone.

"That's my girl. And don't tell Fleecy that I chose you to look out for Nico over her!"

**-CALEO-**

When Calypso had made it to Iris's apartment, Nico was predictably sitting in front of the television screen stabbing furiously away at his game controller. He barely even glanced over when Calypso allowed herself inside the room. Instead, he let out a heavy sigh before ostensibly turning his back to her.

Calypso frowned, not knowing what she had done to make him act this way. "It's Calypso," she said, her intonation rising at the end so it sounded more like a question and less than a statement. She tried again, "It's Callie," she said more confidently.

"I know," Nico mumbled, getting up from his cross-legged position on the floor to face her. "I just thought it was someone else." He looked down away from her face. "It was nothing."

"Did you think it was Fleecy?" Calypso asked, closing the door behind her and locking it.

Nico worried his bottom lip with his teeth before releasing it and shrugging. "Something like that." His answers were vague and dismal. His shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly with dejection and weariness, the hope that was holding him up torn from his spine leaving only dismay.

Calypso narrowed her eyes at Nico, going through all the possibilities for his current mood until she found the most suitable one. "Did you meet someone?" It seemed likely he had been waiting for someone to take him out on a date of some sorts.

Instead of getting that frightened but telltale 'Of course not!' Calypso received a self-effacing laugh from Nico. She frowned, knowing that there was going to be a story behind that. Nico returned to his game, shooting at invisible faces and ignoring the world around him. She sighed, knowing that it wouldn't get any answers from him if she went on like this.

It was time to bare her heart for Nico to examine and poke at before she would get an answer. She knew it was the only way to get him talking. Calypso sat down beside Nico, watching the young man attentively. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before focusing on the game once more. After a few minutes, he exited to the game main screen and frowned at her. His nose scrunched up and he let out a huff of air. "What do you want?" he asked in clipped tones.

Now she had his attention. "We're friends, are we not?" she asked quietly, easing him into the conversation. "And friends share things, correct?"

At Calypso's words, Nico's frown deepened. "Look, Calypso, I don't know what's going on with this sudden girl talk and where it's leading to but the last time I checked 'co-worker' isn't interchangeable with 'friend'," Nico finished, turning his attention to the screen once more. Calypso snatched the controller out of his hand before he could start playing again. "Hey!" Nico opposed heatedly.

Calypso ignored Nico's protests. "I'm going to tell you something, okay?" She looked into his eyes for affirmation and he nodded in resignation. He was annoyed, but she knew he would listen. She took a breath and started speaking. "So I was at a club the other day…with this guy I met earlier." It was a little hard recounting the details, but she tried to paint it in broad strokes. She was not going to break down again because of this. "We really 'hit' it off. He was the one who suggested the club, and friends don't ask other friends to meet them in clubs – at least not in my experience." Once again, Calypso's use of slang sounded awkward. It managed to bring an unbidden smile to Nico's face so she decided it was a success. "But it turned out that he had a girlfriend he never mentioned." She shrugged, trying to downplay it but the memory still hurt. She could see Annabeth turning around the corner and kissing Percy square on the lips before giving Calypso a one-over. "And I didn't know that. So one second I was getting drinks and the next he had his tongue down some girl's throat." Calypso hurried the next bit before she could burst into tears. "I thought it was just a drunk fling but then he pulled be over and introduced us all. His girlfriend knew what was up and did not take my presence well. Let's just say that I decided to go home after that." _Right after getting drunk enough to wake up with a massive hangover._

"Oh," Nico said with a pitiful look at Calypso. She didn't like telling these stories and everyone was sick of them to be honest because of how often they happened, but this was the first time that Nico had ever heard one of the many stories about her love life. "So…why are you telling me this?" he asked, shifting in his spot and looking away from her. It was obvious that he knew the topic was sensitive and he couldn't brush it off, but really wanted to.

Calypso placed a hand reassuringly on Nico's shoulder. "I want you to know that whatever you're going through, I'm here for you." That was a cheesy line to use, but Calypso was kind of telling the truth. "If you want, you can tell me what happened."

Nico sighed, slapping his hand over his face once he heard her words. "Of course it would come down to this," he groaned. He sighed heavily and didn't speak for while, leading Calypso to believe that her plan was not working, but then Nico spoke again. "You have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even my sister," Nico said, grasping Calypso's wrist firmly and staring fiercely into her eyes. Once Calypso promised, Nico closed his eyes and breathed out the words in one fast sentence.

"I'm gay."

Calypso stared confusedly at Nico, not knowing what to make out of it. Surely it wasn't where Nico's heartache ended. She had never heard of a broken heart caused by examining one's own sexual orientation. "And?"

Nico's eyes opened to stare at Calypso. Their expressions imitated each other before Nico finally broke the silence. "It was supposed to be a big revelation," he said somewhat sheepishly. "I mean I am living in a heteronormative society… You would expect a bigger reaction. Not that I'm unhappy that you're kind of chilled about it. Just don't tell Iris…"

"I won't tell Iris," she promised once again, "it's just that it has never been such a big deal to me. But…who broke your heart? You've been acting like a jilted lover this entire evening."

"I'm not acting like a 'jilted lover'!" Nico said indignantly, but a blush was staining his usually pale cheeks. "And no one broke my heart…" He looked away and his expression turned bashful when he turned back to face Calypso. "I kind of met this guy. And it's kind of stupid, but I gave him my address and said he could visit to hang out. If you know what I mean." At Calypso's sudden wide smile, Nico covered his face with his hands and groaned. The flush was spreading down to his neck. "Oh God, it was so stupid of me. I should have just given him my stupid number instead and now I'm never going to see him ever again," he muttered into his hands.

Calypso hummed in amusement. "Tell you what," she finally decided. "We're heading out tonight to that club, Ogygia. We're going to have fun, and you can find tons of other attractive men to go home with."

Nico looked up sharply and his eyes narrowed. "Iris will be ticked off," he warned. "And I'm not planning to go home with other men," he muttered, the tips of his ears turning red with embarrassment.

Calypso sighed. "You're an adult, Nico and Iris would love the idea. Don't pretend that you're not eager about this. Now go get dressed – we're heading on out."

**-CALEO-**

Nico fidgeted nervously as they entered the club. Pounding noise in the form of club music and swirls of colour assaulted his senses and Nico was left disorientated for a second before Calypso was pulling him along. He tugged at the collar of his dark shirt. "Are you sure about this?" he groused to Calypso, noting that some women were eyeing him up and down. He pulled at his black pants, grumbling at the way they hugged around his bottom and emphasized its' shape.

"You look very handsome," Calypso assured him. She had borrowed some clothing out of Iris' closet and was now wearing a tight white dress and midnight blue heels that clacked behind her. She caught the eye of a young man who was looking at her and smiled demurely back. He grinned but the smile quickly dropped when his eyes landed on the dark-haired man beside her. Before he could come to a decision of how to proceed, Calypso had already pulled Nico away and disappeared from his sight.

She knew that she shouldn't really be here so soon after what happened with Percy. They had been in this very club when Annabeth showed up to claim her boyfriend. But Nico needed a distraction, and this was Calypso's favourite place to be besides the coffee shop. A woman winked at Nico, causing him to flush a shade of red. He quickly turned away and grabbed Calypso's arm firmly. "I would have expected a gay bar at least! This place is full of straight people!" he hissed. "You know, I thought my sexual orientation would actually change your idea of the perfect club to go to."

Calypso merely smiled at Nico before pulling away from his grip. "Ogygia is welcoming to people of all sexual orientations," she simply said. "I think you'll find what you're looking for here. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be getting a drink." She forcibly pushed Nico onto the dance floor before disappearing through the throng of people.

As luck would have it, she bumped into the person she wanted to see the least. Calypso stumbled, and her heartbeat picked up pace. Her fists clenched and she felt her blood rushing to her cheeks. Percy laughed a little, holding on to Calypso's shoulders to steady her. "Hey Calypso, I didn't expect to see you around here again," Percy said with a boyish grin. Calypso's eyes flickered from his green eyes to his girlfriend whom predictably stood behind him. She waved at Calypso and smiled, but there was a strain in the smile and it didn't quite reach her eyes. She wondered if the girl could kill with the glare in her gaze. Calypso's eyes flickered down again to where Annabeth's hand was curling possessively onto Percy's arm. He didn't notice the sudden voracity from his girlfriend.

"I'm here with someone, actually," she said with all means of brushing Percy off. She couldn't let him know that she had actually hoped something would come out of the two of them last night. If it took a lie, then that was what she was going to say.

"That's what I'm talking about," he joked. "So who's the lucky guy?"

Calypso felt bad about using Nico, but she could see no other way to cut herself cleanly from the mess that she had stumbled upon. Fortunately, Nico did not know how to mingle and had fought through the crowd to reach her the second she had left his side earlier. He conveniently broke through the horde that very moment. "Calypso!" he huffed irately. His hair was mused up and his dark eyes were wide and wild. "I told you that –" He caught sight of Percy and the words died in his mouth. His mouth gaped opened and his eyes took on a look of awe, surprise, and admiration. Calypso instantly knew that Percy was the person Nico had been talking about earlier back at his apartment. A mixture of feelings rose up within Calypso's stomach at this surprise.

Before she had time to truly feel confused about the emotions welling up inside of her, Percy's eyes were focused on Nico and his demeanour brightened instantly. "Nick, is it?" Percy asked him, and Calypso winced. The effect of the mistaken name was not lost on Nico and his hopeful expression quickly dimmed. Nico's eyebrows drew together and his mouth closed into a flat line. "Man, it's good to see you. Sorry I didn't come around to hang out like you wanted, I was a little busy." He chuckled, scratching the back of his head in an endearing way. Calypso felt her heart pound a little faster at the little movement.

Her heart was crushed when Annabeth swooped in once again, moving her hand down to hold Percy's and stepping beside him in an obvious display of territorial claiming. She smiled at the two of them. This time, it was more genuinely and she looked from Nico to Calypso happily. Apparently Calypso was no longer a threat to her now that Nico had stepped in inadvertently. It was Calypso's fault in the first place – she had been the one who lied about a boyfriend and now they assumed it was Nico. She rolled her eyes at Percy's words. "That's him all right, always a Seaweed Brain." She then turned to look at them again. "I don't really say this often…but you guys make a nice couple."

Nico glared at Calypso before he noted the way that Annabeth was holding onto Percy. His expression grew stormier and his body language was entirely closed off. "Yeah, I guess so," he mumbled without inflection. He refused to meet anyone's eyes, now focusing on the way that Annabeth's hand clasped his.

Percy didn't notice the tension in the air. "Have a great night, you two," he said. "Annabeth and I are going to head out now." He winked at Calypso before turning around and leaving with Annabeth's hand clutched in his and pressed against her side. The couple left the two of them standing there dumbfounded.

Nico finally looked up at Calypso, his eyes clouded over with hurt that she forgot about her own pain for the moment. "Nico…," she began but then he pulled away. His expression grew angry, and he turned to dash into the crowd which effectively erased him from Calypso's line of sight.

"Nico!" she called out, trying to push through the crowd but they weren't parting. The music was too loud and sweaty bodies pressed too tightly against each other. She bumped into a couple halfway and they hissed at her to watch where she was going. She lost hope of finding him after a few minutes of fruitless searching but yet continued.

Unfortunately, she accidentally tripped on someone's foot and toppled over to the person beside her. He yelped and the two of them ended up sprawling onto the ground. Calypso cursed at her luck, hoping that the dress hadn't gotten torn up in process. Iris might be okay with her borrowing clothes, but Calypso knew that her best friend would be incensed if she had come back with ruined clothing.

"Just not our lucky day, is it?" the man she had collapsed on top of said in a self-deprecating manner. It was then that she realized who she had crashed into. Her heartbeat picked up not for the first time today – this time in fright and unexplained nervousness. It was no one other than the fashion designer's ex-boyfriend, Leo Valdez.

* * *

><p>AN: I am so sorry for not updating for over a year. I have literally not written anything for over half a year now and just yesterday went off typing on this fic. I've lost my writing style, so the second half is awkwardly written.

I probably won't be updating this until around May again. I am literally a few days from major exams and finishing the second half of this chapter was just another form of procrastination for me.

Anyway, reviews would be nice of course. I have not yet read Blood of Olympus yet, so if I've incorporated a theme from that book into this chapter, it was purely accidental. Spoilers from Blood of Olympus are the only things not appreciated on a review lol.

And to Nico lovers, do not fret! (I obviously love all LGBTQ+ characters and will give him a wonderful and **canon!** character to love) But he won't suddenly become bisexual, pansexual, or heterosexual. Again, I don't know what happened in Blood of Olympus and whether he hooked up with Thalia or some girl like so many fans wanted, but Nico is purely homosexual in this fic.

On mature themes spoken of in this fic: if you're uncomfortable with them, please alert me. I've moved to more 'adult' type fiction and this is not unusual for me to write/read about them especially in a club setting (and the song this is titled after does include mature themes as well). However, if you are feeling uncomfortable with these hints of sexual activities, please tell me! I'll lessen or remove them completely. Thanks for reading (and waiting)!


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